


Needing a Pick-Me-Up

by Milkbonez



Category: New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: F/M, Ice Skating, Insecurity, exploring kaede's feelings instead of going easy mode with shuichi, includes confusing anxious brain vomit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-30
Updated: 2020-04-30
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:34:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,217
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23936164
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Milkbonez/pseuds/Milkbonez
Summary: Shuichi takes Kaede on a date to the local ice rink. Kaede isn't the most graceful skater, and she's worried about what Shuichi thinks of her.
Relationships: Akamatsu Kaede/Saihara Shuichi
Comments: 16
Kudos: 49





	Needing a Pick-Me-Up

**Author's Note:**

> I had the idea for this fic in December, but I wasn't ready to write it -- or perhaps it wasn't ready to be written -- until recently. I wrote the first part for a group writing activity in a discord server I'm in, then slowly but surely, the rest came together. It took about a month of on-and-off writing to finally get finished.
> 
> Special thanks to Animercom as usual for helping me out with the climax ;u; Everyone deserves a writing buddy like you, Animercom~!

The hiss of skaters moving across the ice echoed against the rink’s looming walls. Massive air conditioners growled from vents up above. A few children squealed and laughed. For the most part, an inactive and quiet day at the ice rink.

Kaede laced up her skates slowly, deliberately. On the bench beside her, Shuichi had already finished with his own. He asked, “Mind if I step out onto the ice for a minute? I want to get used to moving first.”

“Yeah, go ahead!” said Kaede. “I’ll be done soon!” She squeezed her foot into her second skate. Her heart fluttered. When Shuichi had asked if she wanted to go to the ice rink with him, she admired that he’d finally been the one to suggest a date place rather than going with whatever she picked. It was a little nerve-wracking — she could hurt her fingers. Still, having no idea how to skate meant they could hold hands as they learned to cross the ice together. What a deceptively romantic date spot!

She looked up. Shuichi’s movements were slow, his arms held out slightly. He watched his own footing as he skated forward. Changed direction. Tried to stop, eyes widening when he lurched back. Smiled just a little, having avoided a fall.

Kaede shouted, “You’re amazing, Shushu!”

“Thanks!”

By the time she stepped to the entrance of rink, Shuichi seemed to have mastered the basics. Still, he wobbled on his feet making his way over to her. “It takes a bit of getting used to,” he said from behind his scarf, “but it’s fun. Are you ready?”

“Yes!” Kaede said, breath puffing white. She held the guard wall with gloved hands as she took her first shaky steps onto the ice. Kept her feet still while pulling herself along the wall. “Ee-hee! I’m skating!”

Staying by her side, Shuichi chuckled. “Yep, you're doing it.”

“Go me!” She laughed.  


They skated near the wall for a few minutes before he asked, “Okay, do you feel steady? Are you ready to learn how to skate on your own?”

The affectionate flutters in her heart became nervous jitters. All of a sudden, Kaede was _painfully_ aware that she had no idea how to skate. Still, she could do anything she put her mind to! It was how she became the Ultimate Pianist, after all. “Y-Yeah, I’m ready!”

“Okay, watch my feet…”

Kaede kept one hand on the guard wall as she followed Shuichi’s instructions. A tiny voice in her head screamed for her not to break her fingers. She stuffed it down. At first, propelling herself forward with her feet was easy, if unsteady. Then she slipped, falling to her knees.

“Oops, are you alright?”

“Yeah, I’m okay!” One hand on the wall and the other grasping his, Kaede lifted herself to her feet. “I’m mostly glad I didn’t hurt my fingers.”

“Your fingers are pretty safe while learning to skate, I would say.” He gave her a reassuring smile. “But, you were doing really well. Could I have your other hand? I can lead you.”

With Shuichi holding both of her hands, Kaede beamed brightly. Their eyes met every so often, but mostly she was worried about her footing and balance. She was so focused that she didn’t even notice the few other visitors passing them by. And Shuichi was a gentle teacher.

“You’re doing great, Kaede,” he assured her, letting go of her hands. “See, check you out!”

Kaede looked around, skating several meters away from the nearest wall. “I’m really doing it, Shuichi! Yes!” Then she lost her balance and fell again. When he helped her up, she asked, “So when did you learn to skate, Shuichi? Or is that something detectives need to know how to do?”

He laughed, lifting her up by her hands. “Not quite. When I was thirteen, my aunt wanted me to make more friends, so she sent me along to some kid’s birthday party, at an ice rink. I wasn’t really fond of that kid… but I liked skating more than I expected.”

He encouraged Kaede as she regained her footing and let go of his hands. She skated beside him slowly, so slowly, a comfortable pace for her. Finally, she gushed, “I love the thought of little you learning how to skate. Little you must’ve been adorable.”

Shuichi laughed again and looked away. “H-Hey, now…” Losing his balance, he fell onto one knee but quickly helped himself up. “What about you? Is this your first time skating?”

Kaede shook her head. She picked up her pace a little. “My mom took me and Kohaku ice skating when we were, like, seven? I fell so many times that Mom kicked me off the ice so I wouldn’t hurt my fingers. Haku took to it right away, though. She skated circles around me—!” Trying to change direction for emphasis led to her falling onto her elbow.

Shuichi held out his hands for her. “Is that right?”

On her feet again, she skated along, eating ice several more times as she chattered. “Yeah. I don’t know how she does it; Haku is just good at everything. She also took up violin around then—! … Like, she isn’t an Ultimate, but she sounds great. Even when she does duets— _ oof! _ … We do duets for family when they come over. And, and, Haku makes friends so easily. Like, for-life friends— _ urk! _ … Sh-She’s known a couple of them forever, I feel like. And when she goes out with them, she has this fancy camera she uses to take amazing— _ augh! _ … She takes really neat photos; you have to see them! I probably have a few saved on—!”

When Kaede slipped again, she growled out loud, then quickly backpedaled. “Sorry, sorry. I jus—I’m so sorry.”

“No need to be sorry,” Shuichi replied. “It sounds like you really admire your sister.”

A girl no older than six or seven cruised passed them like a duck on water, with her parents skating not far behind her. Kaede turned to watch them, brow furrowed, before looking back to Shuichi to be helped up. “I do. She’s really cool. But for me… Ice skating is hard.”

“It’s certainly not easy,” he agreed patiently. His eyes darted over her face, searching. “Practice makes perfect, as they say. Would you like to hold hands and skate with me, side-by-side? You can tug on my arm if you feel like you’re losing your balance.”

“Y-Yeah… Yeah! That sounds good. Let’s do that!”

He took her hand as if they were walking down the halls of Hope’s Peak, and together they glided along the ice.

Kaede kept her head down, watching her feet, but mentally she jumped back to the previous conversation. She never managed to watch her mouth. It always got away from her. And about another person, no less! On a date with Shuichi! She would have to work on that. At least he didn’t seem to be mad about it.

On the plus side, it wasn’t about piano this time. Kaede’s frown deepened. She’d have to move to outer space if she rambled about piano like she had no other hobbies or interests…  _ Because it’s true, _ she thought. Piano was her life, her entire life. She couldn’t just jabber on about piano. Shuichi wouldn’t want a boring girlfriend who did that.

Shuichi squeezed her hand. She lifted her head, eyes meeting his smiling face. “How are you doing now?”

“Huh?” Had he caught her thinking? Kaede put on an apologetic smile. “I’m good!” Ah, the skating… “I like this, this was a good idea— _ ack! _ ”

Her skates slipped underneath her. The next thing she knew, she was lying on her back on the ice with Shuichi lying beside her. The white lights on the ceiling dazzled her. 

Shuichi sat up and leaned over, checking on her. “Kaede, are you all right? Are you hurt?”

“I, I’m not hurt. I— Can you get up?”

“Yes, I can, just one second here…” He managed to do it with some careful balancing. While lifting Kaede to her feet, he studied her face, careful not to meet her eyes for too long.

Kaede brushed away a lock of her hair, tucking it under her hat. “Could you take me back to the door? I kind of want to sit down.”

Once there, she waddled off of the ice towards one of the benches nearby. Shuichi called after, “May I sit with you?”

“Of course!” she exclaimed, but his word choice wasn’t lost on her. Nor was his sitting two feet away from her. Shuichi had suggested this date, and judging by how she was taking it, it wasn’t going well. He was doing his best. All for her. She needed to work harder for him.

Kaede took off her skates, rolling her ankles. Who knew skating could put so much stress on them? She watched some of the other patrons on the ice. The little girl who had passed by earlier held her parents’ hands now. A couple of laughing teen boys raced each other across the rink. Someone down at the other end leaped and twirled with grace.

Don’t beat around the bush, she scolded herself. Without looking at him, she asked, “Shuichi, you’re not having a good time, are you?”

Shuichi’s brows arched. “Where did that come from?”

Kaede’s frown deepened. “Well, I agreed to come skating with you because I thought it would be fun. And it’s something new to try, you know? A new hobby besides piano. But I keep falling down, over and over, and it’s really just… frustrating. B-But I’m supposed to be enjoying our date! And, and, I keep worrying about my fingers, too. I’m more than a little scared of landing on them wrong and breaking them…” She scoffed. “Everything always leads back to piano, doesn’t it? I never stop talking about it. And then I’m yakking on about my sister in the middle of our date, like, shouldn’t I just be here, in the moment?”

Kaede hid her face in her hands, muttering, “I’m such a bad girlfriend…”

Shuichi closed the gap between them on the bench. Voice low as if holding a secret, he said, “Do you want to know something?”

“What is it?” She looked up at him.

“I actually really like hearing you talk about the things and people you love. You’re so passionate, your entire expression lights up.” He beamed at her. “It’s a lovely thing to see.”

Kaede turned her face away to hide her blush. Chuckling, Shuichi put his arm around her and drew her in close against him. She laughed with him. “I’m really happy to hear that. I know I talk a lot about the piano, so I worry I come across as too one-note for people. Especially you. And that’s why I wanted to learn how to skate with you. Falling is just embarrassing… but I know I have to get over it.”

“It’s definitely a natural and expected part of learning to skate. But I’ll be right by your side to pick you up when it happens.” Shuichi gave her a little squeeze. He went on, "It's okay if you have a harder time taking to it as naturally as you do the piano. Everyone is a beginner at first.”

Kaede’s eyes closed in thought. “Hey, that’s right… I wasn’t the Ultimate Pianist when I first sat down in front of a piano. I’ve been doing it for so long, I forgot what it’s like to be a beginner at something.”

Lifting her head, she clenched her fist and declared, “I’m not going to let ice skating kick my butt!” She turned to her boyfriend, a new fire in her eyes, as she pulled her skates back on. “Let’s go, Shuichi!”

“Ah, okay! Let’s do it.”

Shuichi held her hands as she eased onto the ice. Slowly gained speed. Kaede was careful with her footing, and soon she was gliding along after Shuichi without his help.

“Yes!” she cheered, pumping one fist. “I think this is the longest I’ve gone without falling.”

“Congratulations, Kaede,” Shuichi chirped.

Kaede held her hands again, curling her fingers in a “gimme” gesture. He placed both of his hands in hers again, holding her gaze. Her lavender eyes seemed to sparkle. “Thank you for sitting and talking with me, Shushu. I’m sorry if I worried you for a while.”

“It was my pleasure. Thank you for coming along ice skating, too. I’m having a really good time…” Shuichi trailed off when she leaned forward suddenly, right in his face, and nuzzled her nose against his. Leaning back in surprise, he fell on his backside. “Oof!”

Kaede’s hands flew to her mouth. “Are you okay, Shushu? I didn’t mean to push you.” The tension left her body when he laughed it off.

“I’m fine. A little help, please?” He reached for her. She took his hands, but Shuichi yanked her down onto the ice with him. She fell onto her knees halfway on top of him.

“Hey! You’re sneaky!” Kaede shoved his shoulder.

Shuichi cupped her face in his hands, pulled her in close, and kissed the tip of her nose. "Now we're even," he whispered, white breath warm against her flushed face.  



End file.
